The power to read men’s minds…

The primary reason many people choose to study tea ceremony (including more than two dozen of my own classmates both in Japan and the U.S.) is relaxation. You see, there’s an unfortunate misconception going around that tea ceremony is a very serious, very rigid sort of practice. However, there’s a great deal more to the art than the formal presentation most people are familiar with. First and foremost, tea ceremony is a powerful sensory experience meant to stimulate all five senses.

Figuring out what you need to do to file your taxes is frustrating. There are so many different forms to send in at different times, and you might get locked up in the slammer if you mess up. I’ll take the Zen approach here and write in as few words as possible. This timetable will tell you when you need to complete the proper forms and send them in, allowing for transit and processing time.

I think it’s time to take a look at a well established website that is full of reviews like this one, as well as advice and a variety of other original methods for Japanese self-study: Khatzumoto’s blog, “All Japanese All the Time.”

Visitors leave tiny torii as prayer offerings at a shrine in Nagoya. This photo was taken over Christmas 2009.